Leather dyeing machine



C. H. VAIL LEATHER DYEING MACHINE Filed March 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l "um """"V L T ZZ Z9 2 sheets-Sheet 2 @at l, 1935.. c H VAlL LEATHER DYEINGMAGHINE Filed March 26, 1954 mi2 M YPatented Oct. 1, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

ciently supplied to and uniformly spread over the y bristles, a leather carrying table movable into surface of the leather, as well as thoroughly brushed into the leather.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a machine of the above kind including a revolving hollow cylindrical brush provided with alternate rows of perforations and engagement with the under side of and shiftable relative to said brush, and means to supply the dye to the interior of the brush, whereby the dye may now through the perforations of the brush body onto the surface of the leather for being subsequently spread uniformly over the surface of and thoroughly brushed into the leather by the rows o f bristles that alternate with the rows of perforations of the brush.

A further object of the present invention is to provide the brush with flexible striker strips that normally close the rows of perforations in the cylindrical body of the brush and that are arranged to be iiexed by contact with the leather so as to uncover the rows of perforations normally covered thereby, whereby the supply of the dye to the surface of the leather is properly restricted Aand controlled to avoid a great excess ow of dye onto the leather and to allow the dye to ilow onto the leather through only one row of perforations at a time at the bottom of the brush and immediately prior to engagement of the adjacent row of bristles with the surface of the leather so that the dye will be uniformly spread over the surface and thoroughly rubbed into the leather.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide means for heating and maintaining the leather carrying table at a uniform temperature whereby the leather may be brought to a proper temperature for facilitating application of the dye to and penetration of the dye in the leather.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a machine of the above kind in which the leather carrying table is shiftable to and from a position beneath the dyeing roller, means for elevating the table when in position beneath the brush so as to bring the leather on the table in engagement with the latter, and power-operated means automatically rendered operative when the table is raised for' shifting said table relative to the brush so as to effect application of and spreading of the dye over the entire portion of the surface ofthe leather presented to the brush at each operation.

The invention further contemplates a table shiftable within certain limits relative to the 5 brush and rotatable about a vertical axis so that substantially one-half ofthe leather may be dyed at each operation.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the follow- 10 ing description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a top plan view, partly broken away and in section, of a leather dyeing machine embodying the present invention. 15

Figure 2 is a front elevational View thereof, partly broken away and in section.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a central transverse sectional viewzo of the leather carrying table and its supporting" carriage; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse section of the dyeing brush.

Refering more in detail to the drawings, the 25 machine illustrated includes a suitable frame 5 at the top of which is arranged a revolving hollow cylindrical brush 6 journaled in fixed bearings 1. As shown clearly in Figures l, 3 and 5, the brush 6 includes a hollow cylindrical body 8 provided with alternate longitudinal rows of perforations 8 and bristles Iii which may run parallel with the axis of the brush but are shown by way of example as spirally arranged. Attached to the surface of the cylindrical body 8 of the brush are exible striker strips H, preferably made of yieldable material such as rubber or rubber composition, and each of which is arranged tonormally cover an entire row of perforations 9. It is to be understood that a striker strip I I is provided for each row of perforations, and said strips are provided with outstanding ribs or anges whose outer edges are preferably substantially flush with the outer ends of the bristles ill. By reason of this arrangement, when 45 the leather I2 to be dyed is brought into engagement with the under side of the brush and the latter is rotated, the lowermost striker strip will be iiexed so as to uncover the row of perforations 9 normally covered thereby, thus permitting 50 the dye to flow from the interior of the brush body 8 outwardly onto the surface of the leather. As the brush continues to rotate, the adjacent row of bristles engages the surface of the leather and uniformly spreads the dye thus supplied to 55 A the surface of the latter.

This alternate supply of dye and spreading of the same over the surface of the leather is constantly repeated as the successive striker strips and rows of bristles move into engagement with the surface of the leather, the dye being thoroughly brushed into the leather as well as being uniformly spread over the surface thereof by the successive rows of bristles I0. A suitable hood I3 is mounted over the upper portion of the brush 6 and provided with an outlet pipe I4 adapted to be connected with the suction side of a conventional blo-wer, not shown, so that fumes from the dye may be drawn off and suitably disposed of during the dyeing operation.

A tiltable guide frame I5 is mounted in the main frame 5 of the machine below the brush 6, so as to rock vertically upon a horizontal axis intermediate its ends, such axis being provided by lateral trunnions I6 rigid with and projecting Vfrom the sides of the guide frame I5 and journaled in the sides of the main frame 5 as shown clearly in Figures 2 and 3. Guided in the frame I5 for movement longitudinally of the machine is a suitable roller carriage Il, and centrally journaled in this carriage is a depending central stub shaft I8 rigid with and depending from the center of a leather carrying table I9, whereby said `table is mounted on the carriage Il for rotation about a horizontal axis. The guide frame I5 is so proportioned and arranged that the carriage I'| may be shifted to either bring the table I9 to a forward position entirely away from beneath the brush I5 as shown in Figure 3 or to a rearward position with the aXis of rotation of said table I9 slightly rearwardly of a vertical plane intersecting the axis of brush 6. The proper limiting of the shifting movement of carriage may be accomplished by suitable stops such as end members of the frame I5, as shown. It will also be noted that the guide frame I5 is adapted to be slightly tilted to a rearwardly inclined position as shown in Figure 3, so that after the leather is placed on the table I9, the latter may be freely shifted to a rearward position beneath the brush without permitting engagement of the latter with the leather. The guide frame I5 may then be tilted in an opposite direction soV as to raise the rear end portion of guide frame I5 and thereby bring the leather on the table I9 into engagement with the under side of the brush 6. It will be understood that the leather may be placed on the table I9 to extend an equal distance forwardly and rearwardly of its vertical axis of rotation defined by shaft I9, and thus when the table is fed forwardly and the brush is rotated, substantially one-half of the leather will be dyed or coated at each operation. By rotating the table |80", and repeating the rearward positioning and forward feeding movement of the table, the entire surface of the leather may be dyed, each dyeing operation being in full View of the operator. A downwardly spring-pressed roller 2|) is journaled in the mainmachine frame 5 directly in front of the brush 6 and above the table I9 so that when the guide frame I5 is tilted to engage the leather with the brush 6, the forward portion of the leather on the table I9 will be firmly gripped between said table and the roller 29 so as to be held flatly on the table and to prevent rotation of brush I5 from displacing the leather rearwardly relative to the table as the latter is fed forwardly during the dyeing operation, the brush 6 being rotated in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow in Figure 3.

Means is provided to permit the carriage Il and table I9 to freely gravitate to the rearward position relative to guide frame I5, and to automatically feed the carriage and table forwardly when the guide frame I5 is tilted to bring the leather into engagement with brush 6 while the table is in the rearward position. For this purpose, a power driven pinion 2| is journaled `at the front of the main frame 5, and a longitudinal rack bar 22 is xed to the under side of carriage` Il in position to engage the pinion 2| when the guide frame 5 is tilted to raise its rear end portion and to cause the aforesaid engagement of the leather on table I9 with the brush 6. Obviously, as soon as the leather is engaged with the brush 9, the rack bar 22 is engaged with pinion 2i and the latter cooperates with said rack bar for feeding the carriage and table to the forward position. When the carriage and table reach the forwardposition of Figure 3, the rack bar 22 will ride forwardly out of engagement with pinion 2 l, whereupon the leather may be removed from the table and a new piece of leather placed' thereon to be dyed. The guide frame I5 is then tilted so as that its lower end portion is loweredand its forward end portion is raised, thereby positioning the rack bar 22 out of the path of pinion 2| and permitting free gravitation of the carriage I1 and table I9 to the rear operative position.

Arranged beneath the rear portion of guide frame I5 is an open top tank 23 into which excess dye may readily flow from the leather on the table I9 during the dyeing operation. This tank 23 has a bottom outlet connected with the intake of a pump 24 whose outlet is connected by a pipe line 25 with the interior of brush 6, the line 25 extending through a hollow shaft Yon one end of brush 6 so as to not interfere with rotation of the latter.

In this way the used dye may be returned to the brush for re-use. Any suitable means may be provided for drivingthe brush 6, the pinion 2| and the pump 24. As shown, this is accomplished by a belt gearing associated with these elements and a driving motor 2B mounted on one side of the machine, such gearing including a single endless transmission belt 21.

The table I9 is provided with suitable heating means and suitable means for controlling such heating means whereby the table may be maintained at a uniform desired temperature so that the leather placed on said table may be brought to the desired temperature to facilitate application of the dye to and penetration of the dye in the leather. As an example of one kind of suitable heating means, the table I9 may be of hollow construction and supplied with water by means of a water supply pipe 28 extending from a suitable source and projecting into the hollow stub shaft I8 so that the latter is freely revoluble relative to said pipe 28. The water supplied may be heated at its source, or the table I9 may be equipped with one or more electrical emersion heaters 29 controlled by a thermostat 3|).in electrical connection with-a thermo-couple 3| subjected to the temperature of the water within the table I9. The water supply pipe 28 may have a branch 32 to permit escape of excess water due to expansion, the escape being controlled either by a safety pressure relief valve 33 or by an arrangemeit making use of the ordinary overflow princip e.

It is desirable to permit treatment of the l In this Way the striking acid or water is caught Cal by the tank 34 and prevented from iiowing into the rear tank 23 containing the dyeing liquid.

In operation, the leather is placed on table I9 with the parts positioned as shown in Figure 3, whereupon the table is released to gravitate rearwardly relative to the guide frame I to a position beneath the brush 6 so that slightly more than one-half of the leather will be positioned rearwardly of a vertical plane intersecting the aXis of said brush 6. The guide frame I5 is then tilted to raise its rear portion and bring the leather on table I 9 into engagement with the under side of brush 6. 'I'his simultaneously causes engagement of rack bar 22 with pinion 2 I, thereby causing the carriage I I and table I9 to be fed forwardly. The rotation of the brush andV the forward feeding movement of the table accomplishes dyeing of slightly more than one-half of the leather in the manner previously described, and when the table reaches its forward position it may be rotated 180 and then the dyeing operation just described may be repeated to coinplete dyeing of the entire piece of leather.

It will be seen that I have provided a comparatively simple and efcient machine for carrying out the stated objects of the invention and one which will require a minimum amount of attention and manual labor on the part of the attendant or operator. Minor changes in the details of construction illustrated and described are contemplated within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as new is:

l. In a leather dyeing machine, a revolving hollow cylindrical brush for applying the dye to the surface of the leather, said brush'being provided with alternating longitudinal rows of perforations and bristles, and means to supply the dye to the interior of said brush and means normally closing said rows of perforations and provided with projecting parts engageable with the leather to cause said means to successively uncover the perforations normally closed thereby.

2. In a leather dyeing machine, a revolving hollow cylindrical brush for applying the dye to the surface of the leather, said brush being provided with alternating rows of perforations and bristles, means to supply the dye to the interior of said brush, and flexible striker strips normally closing said rows of perforations and provided with projecting portions engageable with the leather to successively flex said -striker strips for uncovering the perforations normally closed thereby.

3. In a machine for dying leather, a revolving cylindrical fountain brush for applying the dye to and spreading the 'same over the surface of the leather, a leather carrying table movable substantially horizontally to and from a position beneath said brush, said table further being movable upwardly for bringing the leather into engagement with said brush, means rendered operable by upward movement of the table for feeding said table from a position beneath the brush to a position forwardly of the latter, said table being mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, and means for limiting movement of the table in the direction toward and beneath the brush whereby substantially one-half of the leather may be dyed at a time and both halves of the leather may be dyed by successive operations with the table rotated 180 for the second operation.

4. In a machine for dyeing leather, a guide frame tiltable intermediate its ends about a transverse horizontal axis, a carriage longitudinally movable in said frame, a table mounted on said carriage for rotation about a vertical axis, a revolving cylindrical fountain brush for supplying the dye to and spreading it over the surface of the leather placed on said table, the table and brush being relatively arranged so that when the guide frame is tilted in one direction the table may be raised to bring the leather into engagement with the brush, and means automatically rendered operable upon tilting of the guide frame in the last-named direction for feeding said carriage and table relative to and from beneath the brush.

5. Ina machine for dyeing leather, a guide frame tiltable intermediate its ends about a transverse horizontal axis, a carriage longitudinally movable in said frame, a table mounted on said carriage for rotation about a vertical axis, a revolving cylindrical fountain brush for supplying the dye to and spreading it over the surface of the leather placed on said table, the table and brush being relatively arranged so that when the guide frame is tilted in one direction the table may be raised to bring the leather into engagement with the brush, means automatically rendered operable upon tilting of the guide frame in the last-named direction for feeding said carriage and table relative to and from beneath the brush, and a spring pressed roller arranged to cooperate with the table and grip the leather when the latter is brought into engagement with the brush by the aforesaid tilting of the guide frame to hold the leather flat on the table and prevent displacement of the same relative to the table by the brush as the table is fed relative to the latter.

6. In a machine for dyeing leather, a guide frame tiltable intermediate its ends about a transverse horizontal axis, a carriage longitudinally movable in said frame, a table mounted on said carriage for rotation about a vertical axis, a revolving cylindrical fountain brush for supplying the dye to and spreading it over the surface of the leather placed on said table, the table and brush being relatively arranged so that when the guide frame is tilted in one direction the table may be raised to bring the leather into engagement with the brush, means automatically rendered operable upon tilting of the guide frame in the lastnamed direction for feeding said carriage and table relative to and from beneath the brush, an open tank beneath the inner end of the guide frame to receive excess dye drained from the leather, and power-operated means for continuously supplying the dye from said tank to said brush.

CHARLES HERBERT VAIL. 

